” Off the Wire ” proudly sponsored by Pete’s Auto Body
When the National Hockey League Reverse Retro alternate jerseys were introduced, the Colorado Avalanche drew considerable attention for their design.
With a nod to their franchise past, the jersey featured Colorado’s color scheme, but the logo was that of the Quebec Nordiques from whence the Avalanche emerged in the mid 90’s.
The announcement drew two predictable reactions.
One, collectors lined up to get their jersey
And two, the Nordique motif fueled the perpetual talk of the NHL’s potential return to Quebec City.
Sorry, I don’t buy it, the return to Quebec, that is.
I was in Quebec City on a CFOS trip in 2019 and it struck me that Quebec is a pretty compact city, certainly when contrasted with other sprawling Canadian centres that have NHL teams.
A check of the population indicates Quebec City isn’t a great deal bigger than Hamilton or Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge and I don’t think the NHL is going to those cities.
Yes, the Nordiques were well supported in their WHA Days including their Avco Cup Championship in 1977.
What’s remarkable about the Nordiques Championship squad is that 19 of the 25 players on the roster were from the province of Quebec which fueled the passion of the local fans…. but seriously 40+ years later, that would never happen in this day and age of the NHL.
And yes, the Nordiques were well supported when they moved to the NHL, but there was also a siege mentality and that motivation, along with the Statsny Brothers, made them competitive for most of the 1980’s.
However, when the team failed to be competitive, missing the playoffs 6 out of 7 years, and when the exchange on the Canadian dollar became a burden, the Nordiques were done and departed for Denver.
And as nostalgic and as sweet as a return of the NHL to Quebec City appears, I don’t see it.